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User: funkboy

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  1. Reinventing the wheel? on Debian To Replace SysVinit, Switch To Systemd Or Upstart · · Score: 1

    What was wrong with launchd or rc.d?

  2. PFsense hands down on Ask Slashdot: Best Open Source Project For a Router/Wi-Fi Access Point? · · Score: 1

    PFsense is really at a professional level since 2.0 was released. I've had it on a little box with a Zotac AMD mobo with a 2 port Intel NIC for a couple of years and it's really fantastic. The GUI gives you access to all the knobs you need and the concept of converting all unix config files to one giant XML bundle really works for an embedded router platform. I've got a pretty complex setup & I'm pretty sure I could install & restore the whole thing & its half-dozen packages to a new box in less than half an hour if I had to.

  3. So when did they develop... on The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research · · Score: 2

    Embrace, Extend, Extinguish?

  4. Re:The future of Microsoft now in question ... Huh on The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research · · Score: 1

    I think he meant "the future of M$ leadership now in question" given that the "chair" is on his way out; he just phrased it in an unclear way...

  5. Re:Future of Microsoft in question? on The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research · · Score: 1

    I think he meant "the future of M$ leadership now in question" given that the "chair" is on the way out; it's just phrased poorly...

  6. The definitive guide on Everything You Needed To Know About the Internet In May, 1994 · · Score: 2

    The definitive guide of the time was The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog by Ed Krol & published by O'Reilly. I still have a copy of the 2nd ed. on my bookshelf.

    Ed was one of the few folks that did the research himself without a pile of other authors' guides lying around as a reference. He had to as there weren't any. Plenty of other guides came after this one, but this was the one the clueful folks had.

  7. OpenBSD entropy on RSA Warns Developers Not To Use RSA Products · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yet another reason that validates OpenBSD developers having spent years improving the quality of random number generation.

    Say what you want about Theo, but their developers are top-notch and their stuff really works.

  8. Re: Soda saves me money on The Cognitive Cost of Poverty · · Score: 1

    Strattera isn't a stimulant. That's why it's the first ADHD drug to not be classified as a controlled substance. That convenience alone has a lot to do with its high price.

  9. total outage? on Google Outage: Internet Traffic Plunges 40% · · Score: 1

    sounds like the zone file for google.com broke, or some other DNS-related outage.

  10. Re: 2 weeks in VA on Ask Slashdot: When Is It OK To Not Give Notice? · · Score: 1

    Well, I got laid off in VA about 11 years ago (from what was at one time a Nasdaq 100 company) and the notice I got was my boss calling me up with HR on the line, and that day was my last day of employment.

    Of course, the company declared chapter 11 about a week later, so it wasn't like the writing wasn't already on the wall.

  11. Re:Something useful on Version 2.0 of 3D-Printed Rifle Successfully Fires 14 Rounds · · Score: 2

    I wait for the day when a 3-d printer creates an honest, service to others, politician who is happy to have a job with modest income.

    There are plenty of them out there. Trouble is, they don't get most peoples' votes...

  12. learn how to prototype firearms next time on Version 2.0 of 3D-Printed Rifle Successfully Fires 14 Rounds · · Score: 2

    If this dude knew what he was doing WRT firearm prototyping, he would have "worked up a load" instead of starting out his "testing" with high-velocity varmint ammo.

    Just like a handloader, prototyping any firearm (not just 3D printed ones) requires starting with light loads & working up until you start to see signs of excess pressure (deformed cases, sticky bolt, etc), then backing off.

    Granted this thing is a rimfire so hand-reloading is not really a practical proposition, but part of the awesomeness of 22LR is that there are a zillion different kinds of ammo out there.

    He should have started out with CB caps, then regular 22 shorts, then subsonic 22LR match ammo, then standard velocity, then HV varmint ammo (which is what he started with...), then blow the thing to bits with a max-pressure round like the CCI Velocitor.

    Also sense the barrel is made of polymer, hard copper-jacketed bullets are probably a no-no. It would be a good idea to moly lube the thing & keep a chronograph on hand so you know when the effectiveness of the lube is starting to wear off & re-lube it. The better match bullets come pre-lubed so this is another good reason to test with them.

    For all we know the thing may work just fine all day long with subsonic match ammo & proper lubrication.

    Big kudos for making a 3D printed rifle that actually works, but use good methodology & it might continue to work instead of eventually blowing up every time you take it out...

    I still think that in the rifle's present condition he should still blow it to bits with a Velocitor for good measure :-).

    Be sure to get a group on paper with the next try...

  13. Transformer? Use a voltage multiplier... on Google Science Fair Finalist Invents Peltier-Powered Flashlight · · Score: 1

    A bit of googling turns up this cheap IC that would do the job (it's specifically made for running USB or LED devices off of low-voltage power sources).

    But kudos to her for making the thing work & winning the prize. Anything that encourages kids to get into STEM is a good thing.

  14. Re:AltaVista on Yahoo Puts AltaVista To Death · · Score: 1

    pretty much mirrors my experience... used alltheweb.com (fast.no) for a while too.

  15. Re:FIrst Post Maybe? on Woz Compares the Cloud and PRISM To Communist Russia · · Score: 4, Informative

    Communism in it's purist form as visioned by Karl Marx has never been implemented; he never really explained it either. But the way I read it, everyone would be equal; no rich, no poor and we all share things -- kind of like Open Source. It's actually not a bad thing if you like the Star Trek way of working not for money, but to better Humanity. It goes back to our Cave Man roots in a way.

    Actually the closest implementation to Marx's vision was the Paris Commune that formed in the power vacuum of the early 1870s after the Prussians captured Napoleon III. After losing what was basically a mini-civil war to the Versailles government forces, everyone that was running the Commune was lined up against a wall & executed.

  16. GMT is dead, long live UTC on BBC Clock Inaccurate - 100 Days To Fix? · · Score: 1

    GMT died in 1972, so can we put this to bed already please?

  17. Re:The hosts needed to shut up on Atheer Offers a Wearable Display That's Glasses, Not Glass · · Score: 1

    Do you think generalizing about the inhabitants of a country of 320 million people/10 million km2 will help the problem?

  18. My former employer built a DC in a Hechinger on Sears Is Turning Shuttered Stores Into Data Centers · · Score: 1

    Made a pretty good datacenter too. Already had a loading dock, concrete slab floor, & plenty of HVAC installation points.

  19. Multipath TCP on Crowdsourced Network Planning For Connection-Bridging Startup · · Score: 2

    Sorry to rain on your parade, but multipath TCP already does this...

  20. No, only Blackberry tablets are dying on BlackBerry CEO: Tablet Market Is Dying · · Score: 1

    n/t

  21. Re:Forcing strong passwords in the first place. on Mitigating Password Re-Use From the Other End · · Score: 1

    Effort should certainly be put into making it difficult to hack but also making it difficult to gain anything valuable when you are hacked.

    Exactly. That's one of Schneier's central arguments as to why sites getting "hacked" is so prevalent today. Once some initial security perimeter (e.g. a firewall) is breached, system design & security is sloppy enough that it's a free-for-all for the intruders. If systems were designed as a fortress built to secure data this would be a lot less of an issue, as unsuccessful crackers are broke crackers that need to start looking for income elsewhere.

  22. Jurisdiction on MPAA Executive Tampers With Evidence In Piracy Case · · Score: 2

    Was the trial held in Tampere?

    ba-dum-cha

    Sorry, couldn't resist...

  23. Re:Document DRM on Ask Slashdot: Are There Any Good Reasons For DRM? · · Score: 1

    Both Adobe and Microsoft have a Good DRM system that uses Active Directories to control who can open, edit, copy and print documents from Acrobat and Office files.

    And easily crackable...

  24. All you need is Torque on From 'Quantified Self' To 'Quantified Car' · · Score: 1

    Torque is all the OBDII goodness I need, along with an ELM327 dongle from Amazon.

  25. Re:If the military's current network gets 2.4Gb/se on CenturyLink Providing DoD's Equivalent of Internet2 · · Score: 1

    Because your home network isn't plugged into $100K+ routers with the military's availability SLAs.